Death is not an 'essential' public service

Is that the official stance of the United States' Congress and the Pentagon?

Apparently so.

Or at least it was until the politically valuable court of public opinion erupted this past week.

On Saturday, a 19-year-old American soldier was killed in Afghanistan. On Sunday, four more were killed there. The federal government - citing the shutdown - refused to pay to transport their bodies to U.S. soil, and delayed payment of death benefits to their families to help pay for funerals.

Ordinarily, the federal government wires $100,000 in death benefits to families within 36 hours of a soldier's death so the families can plan funerals and take care of other immediate needs.

But for the families of soldiers killed during the shutdown - even though these soldiers were considered essential personnel up until the second of their deaths - no death benefits were to be paid until Congress lifts the shutdown.

That was lawmakers' stand until Wednesday, when the U.S. House hurriedly voted 425-0 to restore the death benefits. What the Senate will do, and whether President Obama will sign the bill, remains to be seen.

Rather than having the bodies remain in Afghanistan, a number of private citizens and charitable groups, including Lead the Way Fund - founded by Jim Regan whose own son was killed in Afghanistan six years ago - paid to transport the bodies to the Dover Air Force Base where they were greeted by their families early this week.

That cannot be this country's official stand. It does not represent the sentiments of the citizens, so how can it then become the actions of its government?

This is an abomination.

This is utterly disrespectful to the men and women who we ask to serve this nation.

We cannot, as a nation, tell the families of Lance Cpl. Jeremiah Collins, Special Agent Joseph Peters, 1st Lt. Jennifer Moreno, Pfc. Cody Patterson and Sgt. Patrick Hawkins that they were essential when alive but not essential when dead.

On Oct. 9, according to USA Today, during his daily opening prayer in the Senate chamber, Senate Chaplain Barry Black, who is a retired Navy admiral, had some tough words for Congress: "Lord, when our federal shutdown delays payments of death benefits to the families of children dying on far away battlefields, it's time for our lawmakers to say enough is enough."